200 miles!

So, last year at this time I was finishing up radiation therapy. During week 5 - roughly the second-to-last week of May - I hit the wall, couldn't ride, couldn't do anything - couldn't think - slept a lot and tried to wade my way through it.

Because of that, I wound up at 189 miles and very pissed off I missed the 200 mile mark.

Fast forward to 2009. May had the fewest possible riding days (20); I had a week of vacation (-5) and 3 work at home days (-3). My ride, from Algona, is 18 miles round trip. Do it with me: 18 X 12 = 216. Unfortunately, May 1 I left from work to the airport (no miles!) and on the Monday after vacation I likewise didn't ride in the morning as my bike was still at work. I had 11 days in the office to get the job done.

I gotta admit, there were times I wasn't so thrilled with the idea - riding home one very wet Wednesday (the 12th) was the low point - I was cold for several hours thereafter. But today I finished the month at 200 miles - 201 according to my odometer - and can only say:

Take that, 2008! Screw you, radiation! I am BACK! I am a RIDING GODDESS! I AFFIRM myself!

It's odd to be so pissed off about an event so beyond my control. But that's perhaps the reason I stuck with it: I most ardently wanted to give a middle finger to 2008 and say, see, I can do it. Bite me!

I worked so hard in 2008 to try to hang in there even with the radiation - one more riding day, and I would have made it - this proves it was the treatment and not the girl.

Time to slide that monkey off my back. I'm thinking: If I rode 200 miles a month - June, July, August - and rode from home 10 times, I would be at 1000 miles for the year. That seems like a good goal...